The Leafs' Mike Brown, left, tries to put a wraparound attempt past goalie James Reimer during practice on Monday.

By:Bob MitchellSports Reporter, Published on Mon Feb 27 2012

Maple Leafs goalie James Reimer never lost confidence in himself.

It appears as if GM Brian Burke also believes in his young goalie.

On Monday, Burke said he “flat-out” declined a trade for Reimer.

“He’s the real deal,” Burke said at a news conference at the Air Canada Centre following the trade deadline.

That he didn’t send Reimer, 23, packing along with defenceman Luke Schenn, 22, and centre Mikhail Grabovski, 28, is also being seen as a huge vote of confidence in the Leaf dressing room as the team tries to move forward.

Toronto has lost seven of its past eight games and remains three points out of the eighth and final playoff spot in the East as they get set to play Tuesday night against the visiting Florida Panthers, a team they’re chasing.

“I respect Brian for what he has done for me and the faith that he has shown in me,” Reimer said after practice Monday, knowing he would remain a Leaf once the trade deadline passed. “When a GM does that, you want to do everything that you can in your power to play hard for him. Hopefully, I can go out there and do my best and make him proud.”

Reimer has lost five of his last six games.

“Most of the year we’ve played pretty well. We’re had some ups and downs but we’ve battled through it,” he said. “Right now, it’s a little bit of a down but that’s okay because it makes you tougher. It shows the character and resiliency in a team. The measure of a man’s character is how you deal with the tough times, not just the good times. We’re going to learn a lot about each other over the next little while. We still believe in each other. We know we can do good things here.”

While Reimer’s name only surfaced in trade rumours in the past few days, Schenn and Grabovski have had to deal with such speculation for weeks, and their play has suffered. Grabovski is stuck on 18 goals and has gone 12 games without scoring. Schenn, now in his fourth NHL season, has been making rookie mistakes.

At least four hours before the trade deadline passed, Burke revealed that Grabovski wouldn’t be dealt and that he was confident he could sign him to a new contract. He’s an unrestricted free agent this summer, meaning he can walk without the Leafs getting anything in return. It’s believed Grabovski is seeking $5 million per season over several years but the Leafs want to reduce the term.

Grabovski didn’t speak to the media on Monday but Schenn appeared relieved that the ordeal was over for at least this year.

“There’s no question I wanted to stay here. There has been tons of speculation, it seems like for the past couple of months. You’re asked about it pretty much every day whether you like it or not,” Schenn said. “It’s the reality of every day. It’s part of being in Toronto.

“I don’t think I’m the only one in this room who wanted this day to pass. It takes a lot of weight off your shoulders once it passes because you don’t have to worry about it anymore. You’re hoping it gets done with so you can just focus on playing hockey. I’ve been through the tough times in Toronto and I want to be here for the good times.”

Like others in the room, Schenn didn’t expect that any trades, if they happened, would suddenly ignite the team.

“It’s not like for the last week and a half we expected somebody to come in here and save us,” he said. “Every guy in this dressing room thought they were going to be here past the trade deadline. That’s how we were approaching games.

“It’s now up to us. We’re not looking for any outside help. We still feel capable. We have the guys in this room to do it. We’re confident in one another. We just have to get back on the right track.”

Coach Ron Wilson was also glad the trade deadline was over for another year.

“It will be nice for the players not to have to look over their shoulders,” Wilson said. “No matter how you cut it, it’s been a difficult day for a lot of players.”

Reimer, however, tried to take the deadline in stride.

“Worrying about being traded isn’t going to change anything,” he said. “The more you worry doesn’t lessen your chances of being traded. So why worry about it?”

Although both Reimer and fellow netminder Jonas Gustavsson and have struggled for the past few weeks, Wilson said there was no reason to think both couldn’t bounce back and provide the kind of goaltending that the organization believes they’re capable of producing.

“Sooner the better, hopefully they’ll find their form,” Wilson said.

Burke had several offers for trades involving some of Leafs’ young prospects but wasn’t willing to “blow up” the team for “short-term” gain.

The only significant deal Burke pulled off was trading defenceman Keith Aulie to Tampa Bay for former first-round pick Carter Ashton.

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